Wheelock to Host Wonder of Learning Boston in Summer 2018

Boston will be home to the Wonder of Learning: The Hundred Languages of Children, a traveling exhibit for educators, which includes workshops, hands-on learning opportunities, policy discussions, and family engagement, from June through November of 2018. Based on the Reggio Emilia early education framework, the event highlights best practices in early education and expects to draw 20,000 educators from across New England.

Organized by the Boston Area Reggio Inspired Network, Inc., in collaboration with Reggio Children, The Instituzione of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, and the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance (NAREA), the six-month colloquium will take place at Wheelock College’s Boston campus along The Riverway. Related events and programming will take place at other Boston area educational institutions, centers, and schools.

Stephanie Cox Suárez, associate professor of special and elementary education at Wheelock College, who founded Wheelock’s Documentation Studio to display Reggio Emilia teaching methods to the community and the public, notes that it’s timely for Wheelock to host Wonder of Learning as it merges with Boston University on June 1, and the event “celebrates the merging of two great institutions who value young children and the preparation of excellent teachers.”

Kelly Pellagrini, a board member of the Boston Area Reggio Inspired Network, explains, “From intensive professional development seminars and in-classroom observations, to a multimedia showcase of the world-renowned schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the Wonder of Learning Boston 2018 is committed to inspiring and empowering all teachers to provide the highest quality programs for our youngest learners.”

Reggio Emilia is an early education approach based on principles developed in the 1940s in the Italian City Reggio Emilia. The approach is considered one of the best educational systems in the world for children from birth through age five, including principles of curiosity, interaction, problem solving, and experiential learning.

Wonder of Learning is made possible by generous donations and sponsorships that allow attendees to participate in segments at a low cost or no cost.

Wheelock College President David Chard speaks to the significance of Wonder of Learning for the teachers and children of our region. “High quality professional development for teachers working with young children is difficult to find and often too expensive for teachers to access. In hosting the Wonder of Learning, we’re making a commitment to the teachers of our region. We look forward to welcoming teachers here to learn, share, and grow professionally.”

Jane Lannak, clinical associate professor and director of the Early Childhood Learning Lab at Boston University School of Education, remarks on how the exhibition will benefit communities throughout Boston. “The opportunity to visit the Wonder of Learning Exhibition in Boston and participate in the related events is not to be missed. Teachers, educational leaders, parents and government representatives will come away informed and inspired and asking, ‘How can we provide this excellent education for all our children?’”

Note: this article was originally published on Wheelock College’s website, wheelock.edu.

Video produced by the Documentation Studio, Stephanie Cox Suárez, and Wheelock College student Matt Woolverton.